Non-halogen etching of silicon-containing materials

ABSTRACT

Processing methods may be performed to limit damage of features of a substrate, such as missing fin damage. The methods may include forming a plasma of an inert precursor within a processing region of a processing chamber. Effluents of the plasma of the inert precursor may be utilized to passivate an exposed region of an oxygen-containing material that extends about a feature formed on a semiconductor substrate. A plasma of a hydrogen-containing precursor may also be formed within the processing region. Effluents of the plasma of the hydrogen-containing precursor may be directed, with DC bias, towards an exposed silicon-containing material on the semiconductor substrate. The methods may also include anisotropically etching the exposed silicon-containing material with the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor, where the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor selectively etch silicon relative to silicon oxide.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present technology relates to semiconductor systems, processes, and equipment. More specifically, the present technology relates to systems and methods for selectively etching semiconductor materials relative to other exposed features.

BACKGROUND

Integrated circuits are made possible by processes which produce intricately patterned material layers on substrate surfaces. Producing patterned material on a substrate requires controlled methods for removal of exposed material. Chemical etching is used for a variety of purposes including transferring a pattern in photoresist into underlying layers, thinning layers, or thinning lateral dimensions of features already present on the surface. Often it is desirable to have an etch process that etches one material faster than another facilitating, for example, a pattern transfer process. Such an etch process is said to be selective to the first material. As a result of the diversity of materials, circuits, and processes, etch processes have been developed with a selectivity towards a variety of materials.

Etch processes may be termed wet or dry based on the materials used in the process. A wet HF etch preferentially removes silicon oxide over other dielectrics and materials. However, wet processes may have difficulty penetrating some constrained trenches and also may sometimes deform the remaining material. Dry etches produced in local plasmas formed within the substrate processing region can penetrate more constrained trenches and exhibit less deformation of delicate remaining structures. However, local plasmas may damage the substrate and features formed on the substrate during subsequent process operations. Conventionally, feature damage, such as missing fin damage, is just accepted as part of the process.

Thus, there is a need for improved systems and methods that can be used to produce high quality devices and structures. These and other needs are addressed by the present technology.

SUMMARY

Processing methods may be performed to selectively etch semiconductor materials relative to other exposed features and limit damage of those features, such as missing fin damage. The methods may include forming a plasma of an inert precursor within a processing region of a processing chamber. Effluents of the plasma of the inert precursor may be utilized to passivate an exposed region of an oxygen-containing material that extends about a feature formed on a semiconductor substrate. A plasma of a hydrogen-containing precursor may also be formed within the processing region. Effluents of the plasma from the hydrogen-containing precursor may be directed, with DC bias, towards an exposed silicon-containing material on the semiconductor substrate. The methods may also include anisotropically etching the exposed silicon-containing material with the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor. The plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor may selectively etch silicon relative to silicon oxide.

During the passivating operation, the plasma of the inert precursor may include or be composed of a helium plasma. The effluents of the plasma of the inert precursor may be directed towards the oxygen-containing material with a DC bias. In embodiments, the feature formed on the semiconductor substrate may be a silicon fin. A pressure within the semiconductor processing chamber while forming the plasma of the inert precursor and during passivation may be maintained below about 50 mTorr.

The DC bias directing the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor may be maintained below about 250 W. The pressure within the semiconductor processing chamber while forming the plasma of the hydrogen-containing precursor and during the anisotropic etching may be maintained below about 2 Torr. In embodiments, the anisotropic etching of the exposed silicon-containing material may include anisotropically etching with ions of the hydrogen-containing precursor. A temperature within the semiconductor processing chamber may be maintained below 150° C. during each operation of the etching method. In embodiments, the exposed silicon-containing material on the semiconductor substrate may be implanted with the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor prior to forming the plasma of the inert precursor and passivating the exposed region of the oxygen-containing material. Also, in embodiments each operation of the etching method may be repeated in at least one additional cycle.

The present technology may also include etching methods for anisotropically etching silicon-containing materials. The methods may include forming a first plasma of an inert precursor by applying a first DC bias to a processing region in a semiconductor processing chamber. The methods may include contacting an exposed region of an oxygen-containing material with plasma effluents of the inert precursor to passivate the exposed region of the oxygen-containing material. In embodiments, the oxygen-containing material may extend about a feature formed on a substrate within the processing region to limit exposure of the feature to plasma effluents. The methods may further include forming a second plasma of a hydrogen-containing precursor by applying a second DC bias to the semiconductor processing chamber. The methods may also include directing the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor towards an exposed portion of the semiconductor substrate. The methods may include anisotropically etching, with the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor, the exposed portion of the semiconductor substrate. In embodiments, the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor may selectively etch silicon relative to silicon oxide.

In embodiments, the first plasma of an inert precursor may include or be composed of helium. A pressure within the semiconductor processing chamber while forming the plasma of the inert precursor and during the passivating may be maintained below about 50 mTorr. The feature formed on the semiconductor substrate may include a silicon fin. The second DC bias directing the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor may be maintained about 250 W. A pressure within the semiconductor processing chamber while forming the plasma of the hydrogen-containing precursor and during the anisotropic etching may be maintained below about 2 Torr. In embodiments, the anisotropic etching of the exposed silicon-containing material may be performed with ions of the hydrogen containing precursor. The exposed silicon-containing material on the semiconductor substrate may be a dummy gate. The methods may include maintaining a temperature within the semiconductor processing chamber below 150° C. Also, in embodiments each operation of the etching method may be repeated in at least one additional cycle.

Such technology may provide numerous benefits over conventional systems and techniques. For example, passivating an exposed region of an oxygen-containing material that extends over a feature formed on a substrate region may prevent damage to the feature during subsequent processes. Additionally, anisotropic etching in a controlled fashion may limit overall material effects. These and other embodiments, along with many of their advantages and features, are described in more detail in conjunction with the below description and attached figures.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the disclosed technology may be realized by reference to the remaining portions of the specification and the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of an exemplary processing system according to the present technology.

FIG. 2 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of an exemplary processing chamber according to the present technology.

FIG. 3 shows selected operations in an etching method according to embodiments of the present technology.

FIGS. 4A-4E illustrate cross-sectional views of substrate materials on which selected operations are being performed according to embodiments of the present technology.

Several of the figures are included as schematics. It is to be understood that the figures are for illustrative purposes, and are not to be considered of scale unless specifically stated to be of scale. Additionally, as schematics, the figures are provided to aid comprehension and may not include all aspects or information compared to realistic representations, and may include superfluous or exaggerated material for illustrative purposes.

In the appended figures, similar components and/or features may have the same reference label. Further, various components of the same type may be distinguished by following the reference label by a letter that distinguishes among the similar components. If only the first reference label is used in the specification, the description is applicable to any one of the similar components having the same first reference label irrespective of the letter.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

During certain fabrication operations, dummy gates may be removed from a semiconductor substrate using etching techniques. In one conventional etching scenario, a plasma may be formed from a halogen-containing precursor. Plasma effluents from the halogen-containing precursor may be used to etch the dummy gates. During the etching of the dummy gates, unwanted etching of other features may occur. For example, fins or other structures may be formed on the substrate, and may be formed of silicon, similar to the dummy gate. To ensure that other exposed features formed on the semiconductor substrate are not etched, an oxide hard mask may be extended about the fins or other features to limit exposure of the features to the plasma effluents of the halogen-containing precursor. However, even with the oxide, some of the plasma effluents of the halogen-containing precursor may penetrate the oxide and damage the underlying feature. Because the oxide layer may only be 2 to 3 nanometers thick, the small halogen radicals may permeate the oxide, thereby overcoming the protective layer. For example, fluorine radicals may still penetrate a 3 nanometer thick oxide hard mask covering a fin, allowing the fluorine radicals to contact the underlying fin. Once the fluorine radicals contact the fin, the fluorine radicals will begin etching the fin material as well. This phenomenon may be known as missing fin damage.

Conventional technologies have struggled with feature damage because the plasma effluents of the halogen-containing precursor react with the oxygen-containing material and are able to permeate through the oxide. Thus, fins and other features can often be harmed during dummy gate removal. The present technology, however, takes advantage of a single chamber capable of both passivating as well as etching capabilities to affect material quality, etch rates, and selectivity. Additionally, the present technology may utilize a halogen-free etchant, that may be less likely to bypass an oxide covering. By passivating the oxygen-containing material extending about a feature, the passivated oxygen-containing material becomes less reactive to the non-halogen etchant, and more resistant to plasma effluent penetration, thereby allowing for removal of dummy gates without damaging other features. These techniques may not only limit feature damage, but may perform the anisotropic etch in a controlled fashion that limits overall material effects. Accordingly, the techniques explained may be suitable for a variety of semiconductor processes across industry by allowing anisotropic etching at highly selective rates. For example, along with dummy gate pull-off, these techniques may be used in many other modification and removal processes seeking to perform a silicon-based etch.

Although the remaining disclosure will routinely identify specific etching processes utilizing the disclosed technology, it will be readily understood that the systems and methods are equally applicable to deposition and cleaning processes as may occur in the described chambers. Accordingly, the technology should not be considered to be so limited as for use with etching processes alone.

FIG. 1 shows a top plan view of one embodiment of a processing system 100 of deposition, etching, baking, and curing chambers according to embodiments. The processing tool 100 depicted in FIG. 1 may contain a plurality of process chambers, 114A-D, a transfer chamber 110, a service chamber 116, an integrated metrology chamber 117, and a pair of load lock chambers 106A-B. The process chambers may include structures or components similar to those described in relation to FIG. 2, as well as additional processing chambers.

To transport substrates among the chambers, the transfer chamber 110 may contain a robotic transport mechanism 113. The transport mechanism 113 may have a pair of substrate transport blades 113A attached to the distal ends of extendible arms 113B, respectively. The blades 113A may be used for carrying individual substrates to and from the process chambers. In operation, one of the substrate transport blades such as blade 113A of the transport mechanism 113 may retrieve a substrate W from one of the load lock chambers such as chambers 106A-B and carry substrate W to a first stage of processing, for example, an etching process as described below in chambers 114A-D. If the chamber is occupied, the robot may wait until the processing is complete and then remove the processed substrate from the chamber with one blade 113A and may insert a new substrate with a second blade (not shown). Once the substrate is processed, it may then be moved to a second stage of processing. For each move, the transport mechanism 113 generally may have one blade carrying a substrate and one blade empty to execute a substrate exchange. The transport mechanism 113 may wait at each chamber until an exchange can be accomplished.

Once processing is complete within the process chambers, the transport mechanism 113 may move the substrate W from the last process chamber and transport the substrate W to a cassette within the load lock chambers 106A-B. From the load lock chambers 106A-B, the substrate may move into a factory interface 104. The factory interface 104 generally may operate to transfer substrates between pod loaders 105A-D in an atmospheric pressure clean environment and the load lock chambers 106A-B. The clean environment in factory interface 104 may be generally provided through air filtration processes, such as HEPA filtration, for example. Factory interface 104 may also include a substrate orienter/aligner (not shown) that may be used to properly align the substrates prior to processing. At least one substrate robot, such as robots 108A-B, may be positioned in factory interface 104 to transport substrates between various positions/locations within factory interface 104 and to other locations in communication therewith. Robots 108A-B may be configured to travel along a track system within enclosure 104 from a first end to a second end of the factory interface 104.

The processing system 100 may further include an integrated metrology chamber 117 to provide control signals, which may provide adaptive control over any of the processes being performed in the processing chambers. The integrated metrology chamber 117 may include any of a variety of metrological devices to measure various film properties, such as thickness, roughness, composition, and the metrology devices may further be capable of characterizing grating parameters such as critical dimensions, sidewall angle, and feature height under vacuum in an automated manner.

Turning now to FIG. 2 is shown a cross-sectional view of an exemplary process chamber system 200 according to the present technology. Chamber 200 may be used, for example, in one or more of the processing chamber sections 114 of the system 100 previously discussed Generally, the etch chamber 200 may include a first capacitively-coupled plasma source to implement an ion milling operation and a second capacitively-coupled plasma source to implement an etching operation and to implement an optional deposition operation. The chamber 200 may include grounded chamber walls 240 surrounding a chuck 250. In embodiments, the chuck 250 may be an electrostatic chuck that clamps the substrate 202 to a top surface of the chuck 250 during processing, though other clamping mechanisms as would be known may also be utilized. The chuck 250 may include an embedded heat exchanger coil 217. In the exemplary embodiment, the heat exchanger coil 217 includes one or more heat transfer fluid channels through which heat transfer fluid, such as an ethylene glycol/water mix, may be passed to control the temperature of the chuck 250 and ultimately the temperature of the substrate 202.

The chuck 250 may include a mesh 249 coupled to a high voltage DC supply 248 so that the mesh 249 may carry a DC bias potential to implement the electrostatic clamping of the substrate 202. The chuck 250 may be coupled with a first RF power source and in one such embodiment, the mesh 249 may be coupled with the first RF power source so that both the DC voltage offset and the RF voltage potentials are coupled across a thin dielectric layer on the top surface of the chuck 250. In the illustrative embodiment, the first RF power source may include a first and second RF generator 252, 253. The RF generators 252, 253 may operate at any industrially utilized frequency, however in the exemplary embodiment the RF generator 252 may operate at 60 MHz to provide advantageous directionality. Where a second RF generator 253 is also provided, the exemplary frequency may be 2 MHz.

With the chuck 250 to be RF powered, an RF return path may be provided by a first showerhead 225. The first showerhead 225 may be disposed above the chuck to distribute a first feed gas into a first chamber region 284 defined by the first showerhead 225 and the chamber wall 240. As such, the chuck 250 and the first showerhead 225 form a first RF coupled electrode pair to capacitively energize a first plasma 270 of a first feed gas within a first chamber region 284. A DC plasma bias, or RF bias, resulting from capacitive coupling of the RF powered chuck may generate an ion flux from the first plasma 270 to the substrate 202, e.g., He ions where the first feed gas is He, to provide an ion milling plasma. The first showerhead 225 may be grounded or alternately coupled with an RF source 228 having one or more generators operable at a frequency other than that of the chuck 250, e.g., 13.56 MHz or 60 MHz. In the illustrated embodiment the first showerhead 225 may be selectably coupled to ground or the RF source 228 through the relay 227 which may be automatically controlled during the etch process, for example by a controller (not shown). In disclosed embodiments, chamber 200 may not include showerhead 225 or dielectric spacer 220, and may instead include only baffle 215 and showerhead 210 described further below.

As further illustrated in the figure, the etch chamber 200 may include a pump stack capable of high throughput at low process pressures. In embodiments, at least one turbo molecular pump 265, 266 may be coupled with the first chamber region 284 through one or more gate valves 260 and disposed below the chuck 250, opposite the first showerhead 225. The turbo molecular pumps 265, 266 may be any commercially available pumps having suitable throughput and more particularly may be sized appropriately to maintain process pressures below or about 50 mTorr or below or about 20 mTorr at the desired flow rate of the first feed gas, e.g., 50 to 500 sccm of He where helium is the first feedgas. In the embodiment illustrated, the chuck 250 may form part of a pedestal which is centered between the two turbo pumps 265 and 266, however in alternate configurations chuck 250 may be on a pedestal cantilevered from the chamber wall 240 with a single turbo molecular pump having a center aligned with a center of the chuck 250.

Disposed above the first showerhead 225 may be a second showerhead 210. In one embodiment, during processing, the first feed gas source, for example, helium delivered from gas distribution system 290 may be coupled with a gas inlet 276, and the first feed gas flowed through a plurality of apertures 280 extending through second showerhead 210, into the second chamber region 281, and through a plurality of apertures 282 extending through the first showerhead 225 into the first chamber region 284. An additional flow distributor or baffle 215 having apertures 278 may further distribute a first feed gas flow 216 across the diameter of the etch chamber 200 through a distribution region 218. In an alternate embodiment, the first feed gas may be flowed directly into the first chamber region 284 via apertures 283 which are isolated from the second chamber region 281 as denoted by dashed line 223.

Chamber 200 may additionally be reconfigured from the state illustrated to perform an etching operation. A secondary electrode 205 may be disposed above the first showerhead 225 with a second chamber region 281 there between. The secondary electrode 205 may further form a lid or top plate of the etch chamber 200. The secondary electrode 205 and the first showerhead 225 may be electrically isolated by a dielectric ring 220 and form a second RF coupled electrode pair to capacitively discharge a second plasma 292 of a second feed gas within the second chamber region 281. Advantageously, the second plasma 292 may not provide a significant RF bias potential on the chuck 250. At least one electrode of the second RF coupled electrode pair may be coupled with an RF source for energizing an etching plasma. The secondary electrode 205 may be electrically coupled with the second showerhead 210. In an exemplary embodiment, the first showerhead 225 may be coupled with a ground plane or floating and may be coupled to ground through a relay 227 allowing the first showerhead 225 to also be powered by the RF power source 228 during the ion milling mode of operation. Where the first showerhead 225 is grounded, an RF power source 208, having one or more RF generators operating at 13.56 MHz or 60 MHz, for example, may be coupled with the secondary electrode 205 through a relay 207 which may allow the secondary electrode 205 to also be grounded during other operational modes, such as during an ion milling operation, although the secondary electrode 205 may also be left floating if the first showerhead 225 is powered.

A second feed gas source, such as nitrogen trifluoride, and a hydrogen source, such as ammonia, may be delivered from gas distribution system 290, and coupled with the gas inlet 276 such as via dashed line 224. In this mode, the second feed gas may flow through the second showerhead 210 and may be energized in the second chamber region 281. Reactive species may then pass into the first chamber region 284 to react with the substrate 202. As further illustrated, for embodiments where the first showerhead 225 is a multi-channel showerhead, one or more feed gases may be provided to react with the reactive species generated by the second plasma 292. In one such embodiment, a water source may be coupled with the plurality of apertures 283. Additional configurations may also be based on the general illustration provided, but with various components reconfigured. For example, flow distributor or baffle 215 may be a plate similar to the second showerhead 210, and may be positioned between the secondary electrode 205 and the second showerhead 210. As any of these plates may operate as an electrode in various configurations for producing plasma, one or more annular or other shaped spacer may be positioned between one or more of these components, similar to dielectric ring 220. Second showerhead 210 may also operate as an ion suppression plate in embodiments, and may be configured to reduce, limit, or suppress the flow of ionic species through the second showerhead 210, while still allowing the flow of neutral and radical species. One or more additional showerheads or distributors may be included in the chamber between first showerhead 225 and chuck 250. Such a showerhead may take the shape or structure of any of the distribution plates or structures previously described. Also, in embodiments a remote plasma unit (not shown) may be coupled with the gas inlet to provide plasma effluents to the chamber for use in various processes.

In an embodiment, the chuck 250 may be movable along the distance H2 in a direction normal to the first showerhead 225. The chuck 250 may be on an actuated mechanism surrounded by a bellows 255, or the like, to allow the chuck 250 to move closer to or farther from the first showerhead 225 as a means of controlling heat transfer between the chuck 250 and the first showerhead 225, which may be at an elevated temperature of 80° C.-150° C., or more. As such, an etch process may be implemented by moving the chuck 250 between first and second predetermined positions relative to the first showerhead 225. Alternatively, the chuck 250 may include a lifter 251 to elevate the substrate 202 off a top surface of the chuck 250 by distance H1 to control heating by the first showerhead 225 during the etch process. In other embodiments, where the etch process is performed at a fixed temperature such as about 90-110° C. for example, chuck displacement mechanisms may be avoided. A system controller (not shown) may alternately energize the first and second plasmas 270 and 292 during the etching process by alternately powering the first and second RF coupled electrode pairs automatically.

The chamber 200 may also be reconfigured to perform a deposition operation. A plasma 292 may be generated in the second chamber region 281 by an RF discharge which may be implemented in any of the manners described for the second plasma 292. Where the first showerhead 225 is powered to generate the plasma 292 during a deposition, the first showerhead 225 may be isolated from a grounded chamber wall 240 by a dielectric spacer 230 so as to be electrically floating relative to the chamber wall. In the exemplary embodiment, an oxidizer feed gas source, such as molecular oxygen, may be delivered from gas distribution system 290, and coupled with the gas inlet 276. In embodiments where the first showerhead 225 is a multi-channel showerhead, any silicon-containing precursor, such as OMCTS for example, may be delivered from gas distribution system 290, and directed into the first chamber region 284 to react with reactive species passing through the first showerhead 225 from the plasma 292. Alternatively the silicon-containing precursor may also be flowed through the gas inlet 276 along with the oxidizer. Chamber 200 is included as a general chamber configuration that may be utilized for various operations discussed in reference to the present technology. The chamber is not to be considered limiting to the technology, but instead to aid in understanding of the processes described. Several other chambers known in the art or being developed may be utilized with the present technology including any chamber produced by Applied Materials Inc. of Santa Clara, Calif., or any chamber that may perform the techniques described in more detail below.

FIG. 3 illustrates exemplary operations of a method 300 that may be performed, for example, in the chamber 200 as previously described. Method 300 may include one or more operations prior to the initiation of the method, including front end processing, deposition, etching, polishing, cleaning, or any other operations that may be performed prior to the described operations. A processed substrate, which may be a semiconductor wafer of any size, may be positioned within a chamber for the method 300. In embodiments the operations of method 300 may be performed in multiple chambers depending on the operations being performed. Additionally, in embodiments the entire method 300 may be performed in a single chamber to reduce queue times, contamination issues, and vacuum break. Subsequent operations to those discussed with respect to method 300 may also be performed in the same chamber or in different chambers as would be readily appreciated by the skilled artisan.

Method 300 may include forming a plasma of an inert precursor within a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber at operation 305. The substrate may already be positioned within the semiconductor processing chamber prior to operation 305. With reference to chamber 200 for illustration purposes only, the plasma of the inert precursor may be formed or generated in region 270, or within a region defined at least in part by the substrate support pedestal. Such a plasma is understood to be a wafer-level plasma. The plasma effluents of the inert precursor may be utilized in method 300 for passivating an exposed region of an oxygen-containing material at operation 310. The oxygen-containing material may extend about a feature formed on a semiconductor substrate to limit exposure of the feature to the plasma effluents. For example, a fin or other feature may be covered by or overlaid with an oxide mask or some other oxygen-containing material.

In embodiments, a pressure of the processing chamber may be increased subsequent passivation at optional operation 315. Alternatively, the pressure may increase due to the introduction of a hydrogen-containing precursor into the processing chamber to form a plasma of the hydrogen-containing precursor at operation 320. The plasma of the hydrogen-containing precursor may be formed at operation 320 within the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber to produce plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor. With reference to chamber 200 for illustration purposes only, the plasma of the hydrogen-containing precursor may be formed or generated in region 270, or within a region defined at least in part by the substrate support pedestal. The plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor may be directed at an exposed silicon-containing material on the substrate housed in the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber at operation 325.

Upon contacting the exposed silicon-containing material, the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor may anisotropically etch the exposed silicon-containing material at operation 330. In embodiments, the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor may selectively etch the exposed silicon relative to the silicon oxide material overlying the fin or other feature. This etching may be caused at least in part by the delivery of hydrogen-containing ions to the wafer surface. Accordingly, in some embodiments, the hydrogen-containing plasma may be a wafer level plasma, and in embodiments, effluents of the hydrogen-containing plasma may be directed unimpeded to the substrate. If a remote plasma is formed, ions of the plasma may be filtered out by a showerhead or other structure through which the effluents may be flowed.

The passivating and anisotropic etching operations of method 300 may limit damage of a feature formed on a substrate, such as missing fin damage as described previously, while also providing anisotropic etching of a silicon-containing material on the substrate. The operations may also be well suited for any size features, including small pitch features of less than or about 50 nm, less than or about 25 nm, less than or about 20 nm, less than or about 15 nm, less than or about 12 nm, less than or about 10 nm, less than or about 9 nm, less than or about 8 nm, less than or about 7 nm, less than or about 6 nm, less than or about 5 nm, less than or about 4 nm, less than or about 3 nm, less than or about 2 nm, less than or about 1 nm, or smaller. The passivating and anisotropic etching operations may be performed successively in multiple chambers or in a single chamber, such as, for example, chamber 200.

The passivating operation 310 may involve a plasma of an inert precursor of one or more materials. The material used to produce the plasma may be one or more noble precursors including helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, or radon. The material used to produce the plasma of the inert precursor may also be additional precursors that may have limited chemical activity or be unreactive with the silicon-containing material on the semiconductor substrate being anisotropically etched. For example, helium may be used in operation 310, and in embodiments the plasma of the inert precursor may either comprise or consist of a helium precursor. The helium plasma may be generated from any number of helium containing materials or mixtures, and may be formed exclusively of helium in embodiments. The passivating operation 310 may involve a form of bombardment of the material to be passivated. In embodiments, an oxygen-containing material may extend about a feature formed on the substrate. The oxygen-containing material may extend about the feature to limit exposure of the feature to the plasma effluents. In some embodiments, a nitrogen-containing material or a carbon-containing material may be used with or instead of the oxygen-containing material. For example, silicon nitride or silicon carbide may be used instead of the oxygen-containing material. The feature formed on the surface of the substrate may be a fin or other structure formed on the substrate.

In embodiments, during the passivating operation 310 the plasma effluents of the inert precursor may also be utilized to bombard the silicon-containing material. The silicon-containing material may be crystalline silicon (e.g., polysilicon or single crystalline silicon) or the silicon-containing material may be amorphous silicon. Bombarding the silicon-containing material with the plasma effluents of the inert precursor may break up a bonding structure of the silicon-containing material, rendering the silicon-containing material more receptive for etching. The passivating operation may produce an amount of dangling bonds and reactive sites for the exposed silicon-containing material, which may allow the etching operation to occur under conditions at which the etching may not otherwise occur, or may occur at substantially reduced rates and at desirable selectivities of the silicon-containing material relative to the passivated oxygen-containing material.

The plasma of the inert precursor may be a bias plasma providing directional flow of plasma effluents of the inert precursor to the exposed region of the oxygen-containing material. The plasma of the inert precursor may be a low-power bias plasma to limit the amount of bombardment, sputtering, and surface passivation. Low-power bias plasma may not be able to penetrate and break the bonds of higher quality surfaces, such as nitride spacers. However, the low-power bias plasma may still be capable of damaging the silicon-containing material because the silicon-containing material may be more susceptible to the low-power bias plasma effluent bombardment than proximate oxide, nitride, and other materials. In embodiments the plasma power may be less than or about 300 W, less than or about 250 W, less than or about 200 W, less than or about 150 W, less than or about 100 W, less than or about 75 W, less than or about 50 W, or less than or about 25 W. By utilizing a plasma power that is, for example, about 40 W, the depth of penetration of the plasma effluents of the inert precursor may be limited. For example, passivating operations as described, may allow the exposed region of the oxygen-containing material on the semiconductor substrate to be passivated. The outer surface of the exposed region of the oxygen-containing material may be passivated or the entire thickness of the oxygen-containing material may be passivated.

The pressure within the processing chamber may be controlled during the passivating operation 310 as well because pressure may affect the directionality of the passivating operation 310. Lower pressures may facilitate anisotropic interaction with the silicon-containing material and limit effects on the surrounding features. For example, while forming the plasma of the inert precursor and performing the passivating operation, the pressure within the processing chamber may be maintained below or about 50 mTorr to minimize effects on nitride spacers proximate to the dummy gates. Additionally, in other embodiments, the pressure within the processing chamber may be maintained below or about 100 mTorr, below or about 80 mTorr, below or about 60 mTorr, below or about 50 mTorr, below or about 40 mTorr, below or about 30 mTorr, below or about 20 mTorr, below or about 10 mTorr, below or about 5 mTorr, or lower. The processing chamber pressure may optionally be increased at operation 315. Increasing the processing chamber pressure may be the result of increasing the chamber pressure prior to flowing in the hydrogen-containing precursor at operation 320. Alternatively, in embodiments, the processing chamber pressure increase may result from the hydrogen-containing precursor flowing into the chamber at operation 320. The process chamber pressure may be increased to about 1.5 Torr. In other embodiments, the processing chamber pressure may be increased to above or about 500 mTorr, above or about 750 mTorr, above or about 1 Torr, above or about 1.5 Torr, above or about 2 Torr, or above or about 2.5 Torr.

The hydrogen-containing precursor used to form the plasma of the hydrogen-containing precursor at operation 320 may include any number of hydrogen containing materials or mixtures, or may be formed exclusively of hydrogen (H₂). For example, the hydrogen-containing precursor may be ammonia, ammonium, or a variety of hydrocarbons. The anisotropic etching operation 330 may involve a form of bombardment of the exposed silicon-containing material to be etched. As previously discussed, the chamber pressure during the anisotropic etching operation 330 may be increased. The chamber pressure during operation 330 may be above or about 500 mTorr, above or about 750 mTorr, above or about 1 Torr above or about 1.5 Torr, above or about 2 Torr, or above or about 2.5 Torr. Slightly increasing pressure during the etching operation may provide a marginal isotropic effect to the effluents, which may facilitate more thorough removal of the silicon-containing material. For example, during dummy gate remove, where the dummy gate is a silicon-containing material, the plasma effluents of a hydrogen-containing material may bond to the reactive sites on exposed silicon, forming silane (SiH₄). Once silane is formed, slightly higher pressures may facilitate the pull-off and removal of the silane from the chamber. Further, the marginal isotropic effect of the effluents may ensure that silicon-containing material along the nitride spacers that may line the dummy gate, is also removed more fully during the etching operation.

The plasma formed from the hydrogen-containing precursor may be a bias plasma providing directional flow of plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor to the substrate. At operation 325, the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor may be directed towards the substrate. The plasma of the hydrogen-containing precursor may be a low-power bias plasma to limit the bombardment and sputtering. With hydrogen being a small, light material, it may be less likely to sputter the silicon-containing material at which it is being directed than heavier materials such as, for example, argon. In embodiments, the plasma of the hydrogen-containing precursor may be more than or about 25 W, more than or about 50 W, more than or about 75 W, more than or about 100 W, more than or about 150 W, more than or about 200 W, more than or about 250 W, or more than or about 300 W. By utilizing a plasma power that is, for example, about 50 W, the depth of penetration of the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor may be limited. For example, by utilizing the low-power bias plasma, such as below about 250 W, and a relatively light precursor such as hydrogen, the saturation depth of penetration may be around 1 nm in embodiments.

The anisotropic etching operation 330 may be relatively or completely insensitive to temperature. However, the operations may be performed at a semiconductor substrate or semiconductor chamber temperature of above or about 50° C., above or about 60° C., above or about 70° C., above or about 80° C., above or about 90° C., above or about 100° C., above or about 110° C., above or about 120° C., above or about 130° C., above or about 140° C., or above or about 150° C. Temperature within these ranges may facilitate pull-off and removal of the silane during the anisotropic etching operation 330.

Anisotropic etching operation 330 may selectively etch the exposed silicon-containing material relative to the passivated oxygen-containing material extended about a feature. An etching selectivity of the exposed silicon-containing material relative to the passivated oxygen-containing material may be greater than or about 10:1. Depending on the silicon-containing material being etched, an etching selectivity of the exposed silicon-containing material relative to the passivated oxygen-containing material may be greater than or about 20:1, 40:1, 100:1, 1,000:1, 10,000:1, up to about 1:0 at which point the exposed silicon-containing material etches, but the oxygen-containing material does not etch.

The etching operations of the present technology may be at least partially self-limiting based on the depth of penetration of the helium and/or hydrogen plasma effluents. For example, once the exposed silicon-containing material on the semiconductor substrate has been etched to a level of penetration of the helium treatment, the underlying silicon-containing material may not etch, or may have limited etching, and may effectively halt the etching process. The underlying silicon-containing material may not be as receptive to etching as the exposed silicon-containing material because the underlying silicon-containing material may not have been bombarded with the plasma effluents of the inert precursor. When the plasma effluents of the inert precursor bombard the silicon-containing material, the silicon-containing material may be damaged, creating reactive sites and dangling bonds. The more reactive sites and dangling bonds the silicon-containing material has, the more readily it may etch. However, the plasma effluents of the inert precursor may only have enough energy to penetrate to a certain depth of the silicon-containing material. Thus, underlying silicon-containing material at or below this penetration depth may not have enough reactive sites or dangling bonds to be readily etched because the plasma effluents may not have had enough energy to reach the underlying silicon-containing material.

Thus, to ensure complete etching of the silicon-containing material, the passivating and etching operations may be performed in cycles. Accordingly, in embodiments, method 300 may be performed for 1 cycle, 2 cycles, 3 cycles, 4 cycles, 5 cycles, or more in order to fully etch the silicon-containing material on the substrate. As discussed above, the low-power bias plasma from the hydrogen-containing precursor and the low-power bias plasma of the inert precursor may allow controlled anisotropic etching of the silicon-containing material on the substrate during each cycle. A cycle may occur in which the operations are performed in a different order, such as the etching operation may be performed before the passivating operation. In embodiments, the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor may be implanted in the exposed silicon-containing material on the semiconductor substrate prior to forming the plasma of the inert precursor and passivating the exposed region of the oxygen-containing material.

Turning to FIGS. 4A-4E, cross-sectional views of a semiconductor substrate on which operations of the present technology discussed in FIG. 3 are illustrated. FIG. 4A illustrates a substrate 405 on which the etching process may be performed. Substrate 405, and the following discussed features and subcomponents, may be within a substrate processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber, such as, for example, chamber 200. The substrate may include a feature 420 that has been formed on substrate 405, such as a fin. An exposed oxygen-containing material 415, such has thermal oxide, PECVD or CVD, or some other oxide, may be deposited over the surface of the feature 420. The feature 420 may be formed proximate a silicon-containing material 410. The silicon-containing material 410 may be a dummy gate that is to be removed during the etching process. Lining the silicon-containing material 410 may be nitride spacers 408.

FIG. 4B and FIG. 4C illustrate a passivating operation, which may represent aspects of method 300 previously described. FIG. 4B illustrates aspects of an etching method according to the present technology. For example, a plasma of an inert precursor may produce plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412 that are directed to the surface of the semiconductor substrate and the exposed materials thereon. The plasma may be a bias plasma formed from helium or one or more other inert precursors as previously described. The power level of the bias plasma of the inert precursor may be less than or about 100 W, and may be around 40 W in embodiments. The plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412 may be used to passivate an exposed region of the oxygen-containing material 415 on the semiconductor substrate within the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber as shown by FIG. 4C. During the passivating process, the plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412 may also contact the silicon-containing material 410. Accordingly, the plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412 may bombard the silicon-containing material 410, breaking up the bonding structure of the silicon-containing material 410 to create bonding sites for a subsequent etchant.

The passivating process may result in a passivated oxygen-containing material region 425 as shown in FIG. 4C. The passivated oxygen-containing material region 425 may be the outer surface of the exposed region of the oxygen-containing material 415, as illustrated, or may extend through the entire thickness of the oxygen-containing material 415. The passivating operation may be performed for about 10 seconds or less or up to several minutes or more depending on the depth of passivation sought and the parameters of the passivation. A low pressure may be maintained within the processing chamber, such as about 20 mTorr, for example, to produce a relatively uniform delivery of plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412 as illustrated. Additionally, low pressure during the passivating process may facilitate anisotropic interaction with the silicon-containing material 410 and limit effects on the surrounding features.

In addition to passivating an exposed region of the oxygen-containing material 415, the plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412 may bombard the silicon-containing material 410 as previously discussed. The bombardment by the plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412 may render the silicon-containing material 410 more receptive to etching because the bombardment may produce an amount of dangling bonds and reactive sites for the silicon-containing material 410. The plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412 may penetrate the silicon-containing material 410 to a depth of about 2 nm, about 3 nm, about 4 nm, about 5 nm, or more. The depth of penetration of the plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412 may depend on the energy level of the plasma effluents.

Operations may include forming a plasma of a hydrogen-containing precursor within the substrate processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber housing substrate 405. Plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing material 424 may be directed to the surface of the semiconductor substrate and the exposed materials thereon as illustrated by FIG. 4D. In embodiments, the hydrogen-containing material 424 may include ions from the hydrogen-containing precursor. The passivated oxygen-containing material 425 and the silicon-containing material 410 may be contacted with the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor 424. Etching with the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor 424 may be performed on the silicon-containing material 410 at a temperature of the substrate or chamber of about 100° C.

The plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor 424 may not etch the entire thickness of the silicon-containing material 410 because of limited reactive sites and dangling bonds available. During the passivating process, the plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412 may bombard the silicon-containing material 410, creating reactive bonding sites. However, the plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412 may only have enough energy to penetrate the silicon-containing material 410 to a certain depth. Below this penetration depth, the underlying silicon-containing material 410 may not have the requisite active bonding sites to facilitate etching. Thus, to ensure complete etching of the silicon-containing material 410, the above-discussed operations may be performed in cycles. One or more cycles may be required to completely etch away the silicon-containing material 410. In some embodiments, the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor 424 may be implanted in the silicon-containing material 410 prior to generating the plasma effluents of the inert precursor 412.

As shown in FIG. 4E, the previously discussed operations may fully etch away the silicon-containing material 410. Without the passivated oxygen-containing material 425, the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor 424 may penetrate the exposed oxygen-containing material 415 and contact the feature 420. Feature 420 may be composed of the same or similar material as the silicon-containing material 410. For example, feature 420 may be a silicon fin and the silicon-containing material 410 may be a dummy gate composed of silicon. Thus, if the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor 424 contact the feature 420, etching may occur causing missing fin damage. However, with the passivated oxygen-containing material 425, the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor 424 may not be capable of penetrating the exposed oxygen containing material 415 and may have limited, if any, contact with the feature 420. Thus, an anisotropic etch may be achieved with the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor 424 selectively etching the silicon-containing material 410 relative to the passivated oxygen-containing material 425. It is best understood that FIG. 4E is intended only as an illustration of the process, and does not necessarily accurately show the depth of etching. FIG. 4A-E may show an exaggerated profile of the substrate 405, silicon-containing material 410, feature 420, exposed oxygen-containing material 415, and passivated oxygen-material 425 for the sake of illustration of the methods according to the present technology.

The plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor 424 may be produced by a capacitively-coupled plasma in embodiments, or may be produced by an inductively-coupled plasma, or other plasma generating process. The power level of the plasma may be less than 500 W in embodiments, and may be less than or about 400 W, less than or about 300 W, less than or about 200 W, less than or about 150 W, less than or about 100 W, less than or about 75 W, less than or about 50 W, or less than or about 25 W. For example, the power level may be about 200 W to control plasma dissociation of the materials, which may provide additional control over the etching characteristics such as by, for example, not fully dissociating all hydrogen-containing precursors used in the operations. However, in embodiments full dissociation may be desired, and higher plasma power levels may be used.

Accordingly, above discussed methods and operations may provide numerous benefits and advantages over conventional systems and techniques. For example, the passivating operation previously discussed may limit or even prevent feature damage, such as missing fin damage. Additionally, the anisotropic etching may allow for controlled etching to limit overall material effects.

In the preceding description, for the purposes of explanation, numerous details have been set forth in order to provide an understanding of various embodiments of the present technology. It will be apparent to one skilled in the art, however, that certain embodiments may be practiced without some of these details, or with additional details.

Having disclosed several embodiments, it will be recognized by those of skill in the art that various modifications, alternative constructions, and equivalents may be used without departing from the spirit of the embodiments. Additionally, a number of well-known processes and elements have not been described in order to avoid unnecessarily obscuring the present technology. Accordingly, the above description should not be taken as limiting the scope of the technology.

Where a range of values is provided, it is understood that each intervening value, to the smallest fraction of the unit of the lower limit, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise, between the upper and lower limits of that range is also specifically disclosed. Any narrower range between any stated values or unstated intervening values in a stated range and any other stated or intervening value in that stated range is encompassed. The upper and lower limits of those smaller ranges may independently be included or excluded in the range, and each range where either, neither, or both limits are included in the smaller ranges is also encompassed within the technology, subject to any specifically excluded limit in the stated range. Where the stated range includes one or both of the limits, ranges excluding either or both of those included limits are also included.

As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a”, “an”, and “the” include plural references unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. Thus, for example, reference to “a layer” includes a plurality of such layers, and reference to “the precursor” includes reference to one or more precursors and equivalents thereof known to those skilled in the art, and so forth.

Also, the words “comprise(s)”, “comprising”, “contain(s)”, “containing”, “include(s)”, and “including”, when used in this specification and in the following claims, are intended to specify the presence of stated features, integers, components, or operations, but they do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, components, operations, acts, or groups. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. An etching method comprising: forming a plasma consisting of an inert precursor within a processing region of a semiconductor processing chamber; passivating, with the plasma consisting of the inert precursor, an exposed region of an oxygen-containing material, wherein the oxygen-containing material extends about a feature formed on a semiconductor substrate contained within the processing region to limit exposure of the feature to the plasma; forming a plasma of a hydrogen-containing precursor within the processing region of the semiconductor processing chamber; directing plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor towards an exposed silicon-containing material on the semiconductor substrate, wherein the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor are directed with a DC bias; and anisotropically etching the exposed silicon-containing material with the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor, wherein the plasma effluents selectively etch silicon relative to the oxygen-containing material.
 2. The etching method of claim 1, wherein the inert precursor is helium.
 3. The etching method of claim 1, wherein the plasma consisting of the inert precursor are directed towards the oxygen-containing material with a DC bias.
 4. The etching method of claim 1, wherein a pressure within the semiconductor processing chamber while forming the plasma consisting of the inert precursor and during the passivating is maintained below about 50 mTorr.
 5. The etching method of claim 1, wherein the feature formed on the semiconductor substrate comprises a silicon fin.
 6. The etching method of claim 1, wherein the DC bias directing the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor is below about 250 W.
 7. The etching method of claim 1, wherein a pressure within the semiconductor processing chamber while forming the plasma of the hydrogen-containing precursor and during the anisotropic etching is maintained below about 2 Torr.
 8. The etching method of claim 1, further comprising repeating the etching method in at least one additional cycle.
 9. The etching method of claim 1, wherein the anisotropic etching of the exposed silicon-containing material comprises anisotropically etching with ions of the hydrogen-containing precursor.
 10. The etching method of claim 1, wherein a temperature within the semiconductor processing chamber is maintained below 150° C.
 11. The etching method of claim 1, further comprising implanting the exposed silicon-containing material on the semiconductor substrate with the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor prior to forming the plasma from the inert gas precursor and passivating the exposed region of the oxygen-containing material.
 12. An etching method comprising: forming a first plasma consisting of an inert precursor, wherein forming the first plasma consisting of the inert precursor comprises applying a first DC bias to a processing region in a semiconductor processing chamber; contacting an exposed region of an oxygen-containing material with the first plasma consisting of the inert precursor, wherein the oxygen-containing material covers a feature formed on a semiconductor substrate within the processing region, wherein the first plasma consisting of the inert precursor passivates the exposed region of the oxygen-containing material and limit exposure of the feature to the first plasma; forming a second plasma of an hydrogen-containing precursor, wherein forming a second plasma comprises applying a second DC bias to the semiconductor processing chamber; and directing plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor towards an exposed silicon-containing material on the semiconductor substrate; and anisotropically etching, with the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor, the exposed silicon-containing material, wherein the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor selectively etch silicon relative to the oxygen-containing material.
 13. The etching method of claim 12, wherein the inert precursor is helium.
 14. The etching method of claim 12, wherein a pressure within the semiconductor processing chamber while forming the first plasma consisting of the inert precursor and during the passivating is maintained below about 50 mTorr.
 15. The etching method of claim 12, wherein the feature formed on the semiconductor substrate comprises a silicon fin.
 16. The etching method of claim 12, wherein the second DC bias directing the plasma effluents of the hydrogen-containing precursor is below about 250 W.
 17. The etching method of claim 12, wherein a pressure within the semiconductor processing chamber while forming the plasma of the hydrogen-containing precursor and during the anisotropic etching is maintained below about 2 Torr.
 18. The etching method of claim 12, wherein the anisotropic etching of the exposed silicon-containing material comprises anisotropically etching with ions of the hydrogen-containing precursor.
 19. The etching method of claim 12, wherein the exposed silicon-containing material is a dummy gate.
 20. The etching method of claim 12, further comprising repeating the etching method in at least one additional cycle. 